• Custom Writing Services
  • How to Write a Research Paper
  • Research Paper Topics
  • Research Paper Examples
  • Order

Communication

iResearchNet

Custom Writing Services

Custom Writing Services
Communication » Media » Switzerland: Media System

Switzerland: Media System




Switzerland is a small, federal, non-EU-member country in the center of Europe. It has a population of 7.4 million people, about 21 percent of whom are foreigners, and four official languages, namely German (the first language of 64 percent of the population), French (20 percent), Italian (6.5 percent), and Romansh (0.5 percent). The media inflow from the three big neighboring countries is considerable.

A politically opinionated press developed in the nineteenth century in the controversy between the absolutist state and the bourgeois class, then in revolt. A small-scale commercial and party-oriented press was established, as a result of this struggle for autonomy from the state and for press freedom, in the second half of the nineteenth century, although with limited circulation. After this founding phase of liberal and conservative papers, new so-called general advertising journals entered the market, like the TagesAnzeiger in Zurich, still in existence today. At the beginning of the twentieth century, there were about 120 daily newspapers, mostly with local distribution only. The changing society of the 1960s transformed the press in manifold ways: There was a weakening of the former party and confessional ties, together with a transformation toward so-called forum papers, expressing the whole variety of existing political opinions in a neutral way. Then there was a first wave of expansion and concentration, together with the total disappearance of the small-scale party press. A second wave of concentration in the 1980s favored the big supra-regional papers with circulations over 100,000, and strengthened a few big multimedia companies. New developments become manifest with the launch of free commuter papers (e.g., 20 Minuten), which have been surprisingly successful.




The year 1922 was the official beginning of radio broadcasting in the city of Lausanne. The pioneering station had already requested a license under the federal telegraph and telephone traffic law that came into effect later in the same year. By 1926, four more radio associations had been founded; these were transformed in 1931 into the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (Schweizerische Rundfunkgesellschaft, SRG). Due to the multi-language nature of the country the corporation today has four different names: besides the German one, there is the French name, Société Suisse de Radiodiffusion et Télévision, the Italian Socièta Svizzera di Radio-Televisione, and the Romansh Societad Svizra da Radio e Televisiun.

In 1952 the corporation received a temporary license for broadcasting television programs. This license was extended until 1957, when Swiss citizens rejected the anchoring of radio and television in the federal constitution for the first time. Despite the successful diffusion of television and the rapid growth of SRG in the 1960s, it took another 20 years before the broadcasting media obtained a legal foundation, in article 55 bis of the Swiss constitution in 1984. Between 1983 and 1988, there was an experimental phase with commercial local radio and television stations.

The SRG still dominates the electronic media, with two television and three radio programs for each language region. The corporation is still in the form of a regional public association, but with a professional organization. In 2005, its share of the television market in the German part of Switzerland was 35 percent and that of the radio market 62 percent. In addition, there are around 45 local and regional commercial radio stations and a smaller number of commercial TV stations operating. Most of these private electronic media are owned by regional publishers, and most of these publishing companies also operate online media.

Three articles in the new federal constitution, which came into effect on January 1, 2000, are dedicated to the media. Article 16 guarantees the right of the citizens to form, express, and communicate opinions in freedom, and article 17 prohibits censorship and guarantees business freedom for press, radio, and television. Furthermore, article 93 formulates a legal framework for radio and television. (1) The electronic media are subject to federal legislation. (2) They have to make a contribution to education, cultural development, the formation of opinions, and entertainment; to take into account the characteristics of the country and the needs of the cantons; and to represent events factually and express the full diversity of opinions adequately. (3) The independence of radio and television is guaranteed, together with the autonomous creation of programs.

(4) The situation and functions of other media, especially the press, have to be respected. (5) Complaints about programs can be submitted to an autonomous complaint commission. This general media political framework is specified in a federal radio and television law that came into effect in 2006. It gives substance especially to the performance obligations of public broadcasting, and to the way the supervision and control of programming are organized and handled.

Today in Switzerland about 100 newspapers are published at least four times a week, with a total circulation of about 2.2 million. However, the number of these titles is reduced to 39 if one counts only the general editions and not the local ones. Switzerland has one supra-regional or quality daily in German (Neue Zürcher Zeitung) and one in French (Le Temps), two supra-regional tabloid papers (Blick, Le Matin), and one leading forum paper in each of the main regions (e.g., the Tages-Anzeiger in Zurich). In addition, there are three weekly political magazines, three Sunday newspapers in German, and other popular magazines, specialized financial papers, and two new free commuter papers. Furthermore, there are many popular and lifestyle magazines available at newsstands, imported mostly from Germany, France, and Italy. In addition, smaller local newspapers are still important within this federally structured and locally oriented country.

References:

  1. Blum, R. (2003). Medienstrukturen der Schweiz [Media structures of Switzerland]. In G. Bentele, H.-B. Brosius, & O. Jarren (eds.), Öffentliche Kommunikation. Wiesbaden: Westdeutscher, pp. 366–381.
  2. Bonfadelli, H., & Meier, W. A. (1994). Kleinstaatliche Strukturprobleme einer europäischen Medienlandschaft: Das Beispiel Schweiz [Structural problems of small countries within a European media landscape: The example of Switzerland]. In O. Jarren (ed.), Medienwandel – Gesellschaftswandel? 10 Jahre dualer Rundfunk in Deutschland. Berlin: Vistas, pp. 69–90.
  3. Künzler, M. (ed.) (2005). Das schweizerische Mediensystem im Wandel: Herausforderungen, Chancen, Zukunftsperspektiven [The changing Swiss media system: Challenges, chances, future perspectives]. Bern, Stuttgart, and Vienna: Haupt.
  4. Mäusli, T., & Steigmeier, A. (eds.) (2006). Radio und Fernsehen in der Schweiz: Geschichte der Schweizerischen Radio- und Fernsehgesellschaft SRG 1958–1983 [Radio and television in Switzerland. History of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation 1958–1983]. Baden: Hier + Jetzt.
  5. Meier, W. A. (2004a). Das Mediensystem der Schweiz [The media system of Switzerland]. In HansBredow-Institut, Internationales Handbuch Medien 2004/2005. Baden-Baden: Nomos, pp. 594–606.
  6. Meier, W. A. (2004b). Switzerland. In M. Kelley, G. Mazzoleni, & D. McQuail (eds.), The media in Europe: The Euromedia handbook. London: Sage, pp. 249–261.




Communication Research

Communication Research

  • Media
    • Media Economics
    • Media Effects
    • Media History
    • Media Production and Content
    • Media Systems
    • Media and Perceptions of Reality
    • Excitation Transfer Theory
    • Effects Of Exemplification And Exemplars
    • Economics of Advertising
    • Antitrust Regulation
    • Audience Commodity
    • Brands
    • Circulation
    • Commercialization of the Media
    • Competition in Media Systems
    • Concentration in Media Systems
    • Consolidation of Media Markets
    • Consumers in Media Markets
    • Cost and Revenue Structures in the Media
    • Cross-Media Marketing
    • Distribution
    • Diversification of Media Markets
    • Economies of Scale in Media Markets
    • Globalization of the Media
    • Labor in the Media
    • Labor Unions in the Media
    • Markets of the Media
    • Media Conglomerates
    • Media Management
    • Media Marketing
    • Mergers
    • Ownership in the Media
    • Piracy
    • Political Economy of the Media
    • Privatization of the Media
    • Forms of Media Corporations
    • Public Goods
    • Agenda-Setting Effects
    • Appraisal Theory
    • Media Effects on Attitudes, Values, and Beliefs
    • Cognitive Availability
    • Albert Bandura
    • Catharsis Theory
    • Steven H. Chaffee
    • Credibility Effects
    • Cumulative Media Effects
    • Desensitization
    • Diffusion of Information and Innovation
    • Emotional Arousal Theory
    • Media Effects on Emotions
    • Effects of Entertainment
    • Fear Induction through Media Content
    • Leon Festinger
    • Framing Effects
    • Frustration Aggression Theory
    • George Gerbner
    • Carl I. Hovland
    • Intercultural Media Effects
    • Elihu Katz
    • Knowledge Gap Effects
    • Latitude of Acceptance
    • Linear and Nonlinear Models of Causal Analysis
    • Mainstreaming
    • Media Effects: Direct and Indirect Effects
    • Media Effects Duration
    • History of Media Effects
    • Media Effects Models: Elaborated Models
    • Strength of Media Effects
    • Media System Dependency Theory
    • Mediating Factors
    • Mediatization of Society
    • Structure of Message Effect
    • Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann
    • Effects of Nonverbal Signals
    • Observational Learning
    • Opinion Leader
    • Order of Presentation
    • Persuasion
    • Physical Effects of Media Content
    • Priming Theory
    • Media Effects on Public Opinion
    • Reciprocal Effects
    • Schemas and Media Effects
    • Effects of Sex and Pornography as Media Content
    • Sleeper Effect
    • Media Effects on Social Behavior
    • Media Effects on Social Capital
    • Social Judgment Theory
    • Trap Effect
    • Two-Step Flow of Communication
    • Secondary Victimization
    • Effects of Violence as Media Content
    • Academy Awards
    • History of Advertising
    • BBC
    • Cable Television
    • History of Censorship
    • History of Cinematography
    • History of Citizen Journalism
    • Civil Rights Movement and the Media
    • Coffee Houses as Public Sphere
    • Effects of Violence as Media Content
    • Academy Awards
    • Collective Memory and the Media
    • History of Digital Media
    • History of Documentary Film
    • History of Elections and Media
    • Electronic Mail
    • Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
    • Fleet Street
    • Fourth Estate
    • Graffiti
    • Historic Key Events and the Media
    • Illustrated Newspapers
    • Literary Journalism
    • History of Magazine
    • Music Videos
    • Nineteenth-Century New Journalism
    • History of News Agencies
    • History of News Magazine
    • Newscast
    • 24-Hour Newscast
    • Antecedents of Newspaper
    • History of Newspaper
    • Paperback Fiction
    • Penny Press
    • History of Postal Service
    • History of Printing
    • Newsreel
    • Freedom of Communication
    • Propaganda in World War II
    • History of Public Broadcasting
    • Radical Media
    • Radio Networks
    • Radio: Social History
    • Radio Technology
    • Satellite Television
    • History of Sports and the Media
    • History of Telegraph
    • Television Networks
    • Television: Social History
    • Television Technology
    • Underground Press
    • History of Violence and the Media
    • Virtual Reality
    • Watergate Scandal
    • Women’s Movement and the Media
    • Accountability of the Media
    • Accountability of the News
    • Accuracy
    • Balance
    • Bias in the News
    • Commentary
    • Commercialization: Impact on Media Content
    • Conflict as Media Content
    • Consonance of Media Content
    • Construction of Reality through the News
    • Credibility of Content
    • Crime Reporting
    • Editorial
    • Endorsement
    • Ethics of Media Content
    • Fairness Doctrine
    • Fictional Media Content
    • Framing of the News
    • Infotainment
    • Instrumental Actualization
    • Internet
    • Internet News
    • Local News
    • Magazine
    • Media Performance
    • Morality and Taste in Media Content
    • Narrative News Story
    • Negativity
    • Neutrality
    • News
    • News Factors
    • News Production and Technology
    • News Values
    • Newspaper
    • Objectivity in Reporting
    • Plurality
    • Quality of the News
    • Quality Press
    • Radio
    • Radio News
    • Reality and Media Reality
    • Scandalization in the News
    • Sensationalism
    • Separation of News and Comments
    • Soap Operas
    • Soft News
    • Sound Bites
    • Stereotypes
    • Synchronization of the News
    • Tabloid Press
    • Tabloidization
    • Television
    • News
    • Truth and Media Content
    • Violence as Media Content
    • Africa: Media Systems
    • Austria: Media System
    • Balkan States: Media Systems
    • Baltic States: Media Systems
    • Argentina: Media System
    • Bolivia: Media System
    • Brazil: Media System
    • Canada: Media System
    • Caribbean States: Media Systems
    • Central America: Media Systems
    • Chile: Media System
    • China: Media System
    • Colombia: Media System
    • Convergence of Media Systems
    • Cuba: Media System
    • Czech Republic: Media System
    • Egypt: Media System
    • France: Media System
    • Germany: Media System
    • Gulf States: Media Systems
    • India: Media System
    • Iran: Media System
    • Israel: Media System
    • Italy: Media System
    • Japan: Media System
    • Malaysia: Media System
    • Mexico: Media System
    • Netherlands: Media System
    • North Africa: Media Systems
    • Poland: Media System
    • Portugal: Media System
    • Public Broadcasting Systems
    • Russia: Media System
    • Scandinavian States: Media Systems
    • Singapore: Media System
    • South Africa: Media System
    • South Korea: Media System
    • Spain: Media System
    • Switzerland: Media System
    • United Kingdom: Media System
    • United States of America: Media System
    • West Asia: Media Systems
    • Behavioral Norms: Perception through the Media
    • Body Images in the Media
    • Computer Games and Reality Perception
    • Cultivation Effects
    • Disowning Projection
    • Entertainment Content and Reality Perception
    • Extra-Media Data
    • False Consensus
    • False Uniqueness
    • Media Campaigns And Perceptions Of Reality
    • Media Content and Social Networks
    • Media Messages and Family Communication
    • Media and Perceptions of Reality
    • Perceived Realism as a Decision Process
    • Perceived Reality as a Communication Process
    • Perceived Reality: Meta-Analyses
    • Perceived Reality as a Social Process
    • Pluralistic Ignorance
    • Pluralistic Ignorance and Ideological Biases
    • Social Perception
    • Social Perception: Impersonal Impact
    • Social Perception: Unrealistic Optimism
    • Socialization by the Media
    • Spiral of Silence
    • Stereotyping and the Media
    • Third-Person Effects
    • Video Malaise

Custom Writing Services

Custom Writing Services